Casino Camping - our first experience! - RV-Dreams Community Forum

NWescapee · RV-Dreams Family Member

Casino Camping - our first experience!

Camper Chronicles · RV-Dreams Family Member

Very interesting. Our first casino experience was mixed BUT we had to pay for the site. We do like to gamble but found the casino pretty boring and on the expensive side. It was very neat, very safe, and very convenient though. I would like to try it again out west where the camping is free.

rajmoore · RV-Dreams Community Member

What exactly is casino camping?

NWescapee · RV-Dreams Family Member

Ron - many casinos offer free overnight parking for self-contained units. Some actually have an RV park with amenities. For us those work best for short term stays or an enroute stay, we do not spend extended times at them, but I've talked to some people who love to play the slots and they enjoy being able to park their home on wheels on property and visit the casino whenever they feel like it.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

Most casinos allow you to dry camp in their parking lot or "camp at the casino", even some with real campgrounds. They expect you to eat and/or gamble while staying. There are ones that do not allow dry camping, from abuse, to keep their real campground occupied (short sighted, but happens) or for local ordinance reasons (some cities in Nevada for example). There are even some casinos that have hookups and allow free stays, I know there are some in Michigan. There are online guides to casino camping.

We like dry camping at casinos since they have a designated area, they allow you to use your jacks and put out your slides. Often if you register, you can stay a while.

TheNewhalls · RV-Dreams Family Member

We stayed at the Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs, IA for one night. We enjoyed the experience and would/will do it again. Of course Eileen winning at the slot machines helped a lot. They had both paid full hook-ups for $30 a night and dry camping. We stay in the dry camping area.

Dale & Ruth, How much solar did you get?

NWescapee · RV-Dreams Family Member

Gene & Ellen - solar in Western WA can be difficult, Marysville WA is in the "convergence zone" which has some drastic weather changes the rest of the Puget Sound is spared at times. Overall, we didn't have to run our generator more than a few hours in total. We have 945 watts of solar panels with a 2000 watt inverter, 600 AMP of battery and in mid-June got by without having to run the generator much with both of us working full time from the RV which means extra lighting, 2 laptops with a second monitor for one of them, and some ancillary equipment for other work related chores. If we weren't working in the RV during the day with the power consumption needed for work, we would have probably not needed the generator. Hoping that for our stops in July that the sun will finally come out in force and we won't need to even think about the generator!!

TheNewhalls · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks, we're thinking of adding solar to our motor home. We have a 1,000 watt inverter, but haven't tested it very much. So far we've only dry camped for a couple of days at a time without using our generator. We would like to be able to extend that to about five days.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

945 watts of solar! That is almost Jack Mayer territory.

BiggarView · RV-Dreams Family Member

Geez, I'm getting solar envy biggrin

NWescapee · RV-Dreams Family Member

LOL, yes, it's a lot of solar, but you have 2 people who are still working full-time and believe me, when we spend a full day in the RV, working and living, even when we try to conserve power, we find we're using a lot of AMP hours from our batteries. I will also say that on some of the cloudy Western WA June days, it took every little sun break and solar power that was trying to come through the clouds to get our batteries totally charged before dark.

However, the expense was a little higher than we budgeted, might be spending more time Casino camping and in Quartzsite the second half of this year than we originally planned. Have to recoup some of the expense wink But for us, it's truly about being able to work and carry on our normal activities without having to think about starting the generator 3 times a day. And, on the days when Dale has errands to run or an art show to set up and he takes the truck (with the generator in it) away from the RV, I can still work and not have to worry about my battery life on the laptop, cell phone, use the second monitor, etc.

FastEagle · RV-Dreams Family Member

What you might find at a lot of Indian casinos.

At the Mohawk Indian Casino in up-state NY, near Massena, there is a large section of double parking spots large enough for big rigs. After entering the casino I asked a member of the management staff about parking and was told casino guests were welcome to park there at no cost and the whole area is well light and security patrols the area 24/7. Great little casino out in the middle of nowhere. Very good buffet. All first time customers get $15 with a players card application.

www.mohawkcasino.com/
www.irv2.com/photopost/showfull.php
www.irv2.com/photopost/showfull.php

FastEagle

Sushidog · RV-Dreams Family Member

NWescapee wrote:
Gene & Ellen - solar in Western WA can be difficult, Marysville WA is in the "convergence zone" which has some drastic weather changes the rest of the Puget Sound is spared at times. Overall, we didn't have to run our generator more than a few hours in total. We have 945 watts of solar panels with a 2000 watt inverter, 600 AMP of battery and in mid-June got by without having to run the generator much with both of us working full time from the RV which means extra lighting, 2 laptops with a second monitor for one of them, and some ancillary equipment for other work related chores. If we weren't working in the RV during the day with the power consumption needed for work, we would have probably not needed the generator. Hoping that for our stops in July that the sun will finally come out in force and we won't need to even think about the generator!!

Wow, that's one heck of a solar system. If you don't mind my asking, what would something like that set a fellow back both weight and cost wise? Let me guess and you can tell me if I'm close: 750 lbs and about $5,000?